New County Managers Expect Smooth Sailing

SANFORD — With a new management framework in place, the two new cogs -- Deputy County Administrators Richard George and Woody Price -- are optimistic about Seminole County government operating like a

well-oiled gear.

George, a special projects coordinator for the Volusia County manager, will begin working for Seminole County on Monday.

Price assumed his new position April 1. Each will earn $44,640 a year.

George's tasks will focus on the administrative side of government. Employee relations, management and budget, computer services and public services fall into his realm. Price will handle planning and development.

Operating departments, such as environmental services, health and human services, public safety and public works, will report directly to County Administrator Ken Hooper.

While each has different departments reporting to him, Price and George will have to work closely with one another and with Hooper, Price said. No department can operate independently of the others, he said.

The two deputy positions were created in response to a private consulting firm's study of Seminole County's management organization.

George sees that study and the com-

missioners' response of establishing the new positions as part of the county's maturing.

''The demands of growth are causing Seminole County to evolve,'' he said. ''As in all Florida counties, and particularly Central Florida counties, they commissioners need an adequate managerial framework to address the rapid change.''

Price and George have expertise in different areas.

George, 31, of DeLand, has a bachelor's degree from Stetson University and has worked with Volusia County since 1974. Projects he has worked on there include the Interlocal Beach Commission, consolidating the fire services, providing services in the municipal district of Deltona, acquiring park land and managing grants.

Price, 35, had been Seminole County's planning director since 1978. The Florida State University graduate began working for the county in 1977 as the principal planner.

Hooper, the county's former environmental services director, brings his own expertise to the management team he leads.

''No single administrator can handle all of those government aspects and handle them well,'' Price said.

As the newcomer to Seminole County, George said he wants to listen and observe for a while to find out what resources he can offer the management team.

George said he was attracted to Seminole County because it has a good reputation as a progressive, well-managed county.

That image may have faltered late last year when former County Administrator T. Duncan Rose III resigned under pressure from the commission that had hired him less than two years earlier on a 3 to 2 vote.

Rose had one assistant rather than two deputies, but that assistant left office in March 1984 and was not replaced.

Commissioners complained that Rose did not keep up with his workload and lacked the leadership qualities they wanted. Rose said he and the commissioners had personality conflicts that hampered his ability to do his job.

But Rose's departure hasn't tainted George's view of Seminole County.

Seminole County has a good staff with an excellent reputation, he said.

''I feel real good about the job. I have a good feeling about the environment I'm moving into,'' he said.

George was appointed on a 3 to 2 vote with Commissioners Sandra Glenn and Barbara Christensen saying they would have preferred to promote Eleanor Anderson, the county's management and budget director.

''I don't interpret that as a vote against me,'' George said.

Price gained his appointed with a unanimous vote.

The new post will give him the opportunity to accomplish more than he could as planning director, Price said.

All administrators have two main duties, he said. ''One is managing the present and the other is managing the future. Managing the future is our biggest challenge,'' he said.

Price said he is encouraged with the county accomplishments and enthusiastic about the future. But he added that doesn't mean he is satisfied with the county's current status.

''If you focus on the gap between the way things ought to be and the way things are, one has no choice but to be dissatisfied,'' he said.

The new post will give him the opportunity to be more influential in identifying ''what the people in Seminole County want their county to be,'' he said.

''I don't see Woody Price's image of Seminole County as being particularly important,'' he said. What is important is that the majority of Seminole County residents are satisfied with the type of county they live in, he said.